This Saturday, Shot Baker is playing at Beat Kitchen with Vacation Bible School, The Eradicator, No Enemy!, and Mofaza. They’re also releasing a new EP on the same day, courtesy of Underground Communiqué Records, called Crack in the Code. When asked about the origins of this EP, singer Tony Kovacs provided a detailed backstory. He said, “In 2009, we were on an East coast tour with Naked Raygun when we parted ways with our guitarist John Krohn over retrospectively stupid shit that we probably could have mended. But, tensions can run high on tour. We had a bunch of good material we wrote with John that we ended up scrapping. In his place we got Steven Jenkins and started fresh, writing all new material. In 2011, we were very close to recording a full-length, but I kind of freaked out and decided to quit the band and move to Colorado. At that point we had good material with both John and Steven that never saw the light of day.” He continued, “Since then we’ve all made up and become friends again. In 2017, we did a reunion show with John and promoted the show as the “original lineup,” with the understanding that anything we do after that show will be a five-piece with both John and Steven on guitar. So, Crack in the Code is a handful of stuff we wrote with Steven and some stuff we wrote with John to sort of merge talents on one release and solidify Shot Baker as a five-piece band.”

We’re premiering the video for one of the EP’s songs below, called “Ode to Kerouac.” When describing his motivations for writing the song, Kovacs said “At surface level, it’s a huge dis to Jack Kerouac. But despite the scornful lyrics, I view it as a proper homage. It’s really just a dis on myself. When I study Kerouac, I notice patterns, fears and mistakes that remind me of myself. I read the ramblings of a guy who had his head and heart pointed in the right direction, but ultimately flopped. His adventures in Buddhism and his glorification of society’s undesirables is hugely influential, but he wasn’t able to maintain his convictions. He ended up dying a lonely, anti-Semitic, right-wing alcoholic.” He added, “In one of his books, a Zen master told him that he has ‘Zen flesh but no Zen bones,’ (a line I use in the song) which really shook him to his core. Turns out the Zen master was right. So, through my own Buddhist studies and other adventures, I’ve picked up on certain insights that I know have to be properly cultivated or they’ll be lost. I don’t think I’ll become an anti-Semitic alcoholic, but I’m pretty lousy at converting insights into lifestyle.”

When looking ahead to Saturday’s show, Kovacs commented “I used to work at Beat Kitchen and Shot Baker had some of our most memorable shows there, so I’m excited to play for nostalgic reasons. But mostly I’m looking forward to the energy of a roomful of people who care about these songs we made. That’s an amazing feeling.” The show starts at 8:00 PM, is 17+ and tickets can be purchased here.

Artwork by Frank Okay // Photos by Katie Hovland

We’re happy to unveil the single day lineups for this year’s Ian’s Party, which kicks off on Friday, January 4th. Opening night will feature Salvation, Montrose Man, Fitness, Absolutely Not, ONO, Ganser, and others at Subterranean. Bands will be playing both upstairs and downstairs stages. On the same evening, Chop Shop will host Toys That Kill, Drilling For Blasting, The Brokedowns, Bust!, The Slow Death, Butcher’s Union and more. Chop Shop will divide its stage in half for the event, with bands playing on either side to limit downtime between sets. There’s also a late show on Friday at Chop Shop with Canadian Rifle and others. Click here to view…

Earlier this month, Jason S. Thompson released his latest EP and first for Paper + Plastick, called Half Empty. Thompson previously played in The Sky We Scrape and is a current member of Little Teeth. The record was written throughout his move from Chicago to Germany and was recorded entirely in Thompson’s home. When detailing the writing process, he said “Some of these songs are older songs that I reworked for the album because I thought they would be a good fit, and others are only a few months old. The most recent is ‘Timezones’ and I wrote that one during the recording of Half Empty. The overall writing process for more ‘solo’ stuff was during the swan song phase of my old band, The Sky We Scrape. I had a small batch of songs that weren’t a great fit for TSWS, and since that band was breaking up, I decided to rework them into something I could do on my own.” He continued, “Another large factor for Half Empty was my move to Germany. Focusing on a solo album is a much easier way to create when you move away from your social and musical circle that you’ve been with your entire life, so that made it an easier transition.”

Recording at home had both advantages and difficulties, according to Thompson. It allowed him to learn more about engineering while simultaneously taking his time, but it also didn’t provide a distraction-free environment that a typical studio often does. In terms of the finished product, he said “My favorite aspect of how Half Empty was recorded is probably the fact that I let myself make mistakes and not make it a ‘perfect’ album. I wanted it to be more of a reflection of what a small living room show might be like. I make some flubs at times and sometimes you’ll hear some fret buzz or scraping. Sometimes the notes aren’t perfect, but for this album I didn’t want to stress about that. When I play live, I’m not going to be perfect and this is sort of a reflection of that mentality.”

We’re streaming one of the album’s tracks below, which Thompson wrote when he was at a crossroads in life. He explained, “I was working at a job where I wasn’t feeling creatively fulfilled and my old band was offered our second tour of Europe, so I had to make the decision to either stay at that job or to take the tour. I quit my job and made the jump to freelance so that I could go on tour, and the song is basically me working through that at the time.” He added, “It was one of the best decisions I ever made and after a year of freelance the same company I left offered me a new job where I’d be able to live half the year in Germany and half the year in Chicago. I ended up going back to them after a year off and that’s what ultimately led me to moving to Germany full-time. Now I’m over here in Munich and whenever I play that song I always laugh because this is not how I expected it to all play out when that song was written.”

Check out the song now and order a digital copy of the record here, (this version has an optional enamel pin). The record is also available with custom whiskey rocks glasses and those can be ordered here. Lastly, 25% of all Bandcamp proceeds will go to Hope for the Day, an organization that is committed to suicide prevention and mental health education.

On November 23rd, The Eradicator will release its new EP, called The Court’s Closed on Christmas. It will be made available by three different labels: Underground Communiqué Records, Programme Skate & Sound, and Stonewalled. For those unfamiliar with the band, their identity is centered around a sketch from Kids in the Hall by the same name. According to singer/guitarist Andy Slania, the idea for this EP stemmed from a desire to put out new music between LPs, as they plan on releasing their second full-length next year. He further detailed the EP’s concept, stating “I’ve had the idea for a while in terms of approaching this character doing cover songs, but adapting the lyrics to fit the character. I only had one or two songs off the bat that I was looking to interject into the live show, but then with the idea of doing a ‘midterm’ release and the concept of the holiday song, it just made sense to record a bunch of covers and continue the build out of the character as to why he wants to do cover songs.”

The EP was recorded by Pete Grossmann at Bricktop Recording, who also recorded the band’s debut album. When asked to describe their time in the studio, Slania said “Recording with Pete is always a treat, especially since this band is made up of people from different locations with different schedules. Our songwriting process is me writing everything in my practice space and then emailing it out to everyone to learn, so the majority of the time we don’t actually play the song as a band before it’s recorded. Pete has a lot of patience for us to learn songs as we’re recording them. If we went with someone who wasn’t patient with us, it would be way more difficult and a downer.”

We’re streaming the title track off the EP below, which was inspired by Slania wondering how the Eradicator character would feel about Christmas. He explained, “I just imagined him going on with his usual day and then realizing on his way to the squash court that it was closed, and focusing on that moment in time and writing the song about his reaction to that. I also thought the melody of ‘Frosty the Snowman’ would fit, so I went with that from a structural perspective.” The band’s next scheduled show is December 22nd at the Cactus Club in Milwaukee, followed by a special Christmas Day show in Union, IL. Take a listen to the song now and preorder the record here.

All photos by Katie Hovland

On Friday, January 4th – Sunday, January 6th, the 12th annual Ian’s Party will take place at Chop Shop and Subterranean. Nearly 40 bands have been confirmed for the event so far, including The Brokedowns, Canadian Rifle, Drilling For Blasting, Elephant Gun, The House That Gloria Vanderbilt, Meat Wave, Sincere Engineer, Toys That Kill and many others. Also, we’re proud to announce that The Arrivals will be playing Ian’s Party 2019, marking their first hometown show in over five years. Beginning today, weekend passes are available at the presale price of $40 and can be purchased here. As of November 1st, weekend passes will be $60. Check back for further details as more announcements will be made soon.

Next month, Asian Man Records will release Colossal’s debut album, Welcome the Problems, for the first time on vinyl. The label initially released the full-length on CD in 2004. Colossal formed in Elgin, Illinois in 2001 and at the time of this recording their lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Pat Ford, guitarist/singer/trumpet player Jason Flaks, drummer/singer Rob Kellenberger and bassist Eli Caterer. When asked as to why this album is now being re-released, label owner Mike Park said “People kept asking me about it. The band never said a thing. It was strictly folks messaging me and asking if it would be released on vinyl. Originally, I didn’t do the vinyl for this. A small, now defunct label called Grey Flight Records did, so I wanted to have this in our discography.”

As part of this re-release, the record was fully remastered by Carl Saff. A total of 600 copies were pressed, with 300 on white vinyl and 300 on black. When speaking about why this album is special to him, Park said “Because I slept on it. When I first put this out, I wasn’t a big fan to be honest. I think I mostly originally put this out just because of my relationship with Rob Kellenberger and Slapstick. Basically, any member of Slapstick I would say ‘yes’ to whatever they brought to the table. And so that was the case with Colossal. I didn’t love it and that makes me angry because I listen to it now and go ‘geez…this shit is insane.’”

We’re streaming the album’s second track below, “The Serious Kind,” which exemplifies the band’s progressive arrangements and penchant for melody. Pre-order the record here and expect it to ship by mid-October.

Photos by Katie Hovland

On August 25th, 350 Fest 4 will take place at the Tinley Park Convention Center. The Descendents, Less Than Jake, Smoking Popes, A Wilhelm Scream, Mest, Sincere Engineer and Burn Rebuild are all playing the event. In addition, over 25 different 350 Brewing Company beers will be available, with each beer priced at only $5. There’s also live wrestling, a hot wing challenge and more. We recently spoke with 350 Brewing employee Justin Maynard regarding the details of this year’s fest. Click here to view…

On August 9th, The Addisons are scheduled to release their second EP, Here It Comes Again. Recorded and produced by Mike Felumlee of The Smoking Popes, the record finds the band noticeably advancing their interpretation of Midwestern indie/punk. The Addisons’ roster consists of singer/guitarists Dave Lysien, (Not Rebecca, Textbook) and Tom Counihan, (Not Rebecca, Tom Daily). Anchoring the rhythm section is bassist Rick Uncapher, (Textbook, Dan Vapid and the Cheats, Noise By Numbers) and the newest addition, drummer Jesse Carmona, (Gods Reflex, The Braves).

When asked about recording with Felumlee, Counihan said “I’ve been playing and recording with Mike on and off for over 20 years, since I played with him in the Smoking Popes. He played drums on a bunch of my solo recordings, so it was very natural to record with him.” He added, “I just like the tones of the recordings. Mike and I have similar tastes in music, so the mixes, especially the drum sounds, are right where I like them.”

We’re streaming one of the songs from Here It Comes Again below, called “Down Down Down.” When speaking of what inspired its creation, Counihan said “The song came together really quickly. I wrote it in my car at lunch one day. I had my guitar in the back seat and I started and finished in less than an hour. I recorded it onto my phone and sent it to the rest of the band right away. The next practice we started working on turning it into a full band version. I don’t write songs nearly as often as I used to, so it was great to have it be so painless.” Take a listen to the track now and on Thursday, get the record here.

Following three successful shows at Chop Shop earlier this month, Apocalypse Hoboken is set to release a collections LP on Underground Communiqué Records, titled Everybody’s Been Burned. Spanning 17 tracks in total, many of these songs initially appeared on compilations, but were never previously released on vinyl. According to label owner Justin Schwier, the idea for this record came about roughly six months ago during a conversation with drummer Andy Peterson. “Andy and I were at a birthday party and he brought the idea up. He told me they were planning this weekend of shows and asked about whether or not I was interested in doing something for the band, which I of course was,” he said. “Working with Apocalypse Hoboken was never something I ever thought would happen and I’m truly honored to get something back in print for them.”

A limited edition of 100 LPs on smoky clear vinyl were made available at the recent shows, but quickly sold out. Once the covers are ready, there will be 200 copies available on transparent orange vinyl and 100 copies on clear vinyl with blue coloring at the center. Additionally, there will be 100 copies of purple vinyl sold exclusively at Reckless Records. All songs were remastered by Bill Henderson at Azimuth Mastering, which according to Schwier wasn’t the easiest of undertakings. “First and foremost, he did an amazing job and truly transformed these songs in a way that is staggering compared to the state of some of the tracks the band handed over initially,” he said. “Compilations like this are difficult to master because almost every track is from a different recording session, so he had to uniformly equalize the sound and then go and fix a bunch of technical audio problems. A couple songs were really challenging to fix, but he worked his magic.”

When reflecting on the weekend of shows and the opportunity to work with the band, Schwier said “Honestly it wasn’t until Friday night when they started playing that the magnitude of doing an Apocalypse Hoboken record actually hit me. I got a little emotional seeing them live again. That Friday night show was bonkers from the first note. I was immediately brought back to being a teenager and seeing them play all the time. The power of that band live cannot be explained, nor underestimated. They reconjured that alluring darkness and chaotic atmosphere out of nowhere again, like I knew they would.” Preorder the LP here and take a listen to one of the songs below, “Excel.”

Last month, SuJah Ray released their debut, self-titled EP. The project was conceived of several years ago by Justin Yates, (audio engineer Atlas Studios/Metro). He explained, “I was wrapping up a Fireside show and playing Sugar Ray over the PA at the end of the night. My buddy Dan Wallach and I joked around, changing some words here and there and then it hit me that it could actually be a cool, totally ridiculous idea. About five years later Dan Tinkler, (engineer Atlas Studios) some other very talented homies and I finally brought it to life.” He continued, “We’re all fans of Jahbreaker, (Brian Moss’s Jawbreaker reggae cover band that made all the lyrics weed-related) and thought Sugar Ray songs would be perfect to do a similar reggae/dub thing with.”

Assisting Yates in making this endeavor a reality were several noteworthy Chicago musicians. Ronnie DiCola, (The Arrivals) played drums, Aly Jados, (Blood People) provided harmonies, and Dan Alfonsi, (Still Alive) channeled deejay Super Cat and did some additional vocals. Tinkler played guitar, while Yates sang and played keyboards and synth bass. When asked to describe what recording was like, Tinkler said “We did the majority of tracking at Atlas, but added some bits and pieces at our apartments. It was stretched out over a long time, mostly due to my dumb scheduling, but it was always fun. I think that was a really important part of it; when we worked on it we had to have fun and be silly. Of course we had to get good performances, but we were focused on it being fun. Justin and I always have a blast working together.”

In terms of the possibility of someone from Sugar Ray ever hearing these songs, Yates said “I hope they get a good, guttural laugh out of it! Maybe they’ll be jealous that we told stories via songs that they always wanted to. Mark McGrath seems like a super caring, charismatic, fantastic guy. I’d love it if he reached out or mentioned SuJah Ray somewhere someday. Or maybe they’ll hear it and think that everything we’re doing is too close for comfort and shut us down with court orders and stuff. I would get a huge LOL out of that!” Check out “High” below and take a listen to the other songs here.

On May 18th, Darren Vorel, (The Scissors, Showoff, TLB) will release his debut solo EP, More Today Than Ever. Written over a period of several years, these songs didn’t necessarily gel with his current band, TLB, so Vorel opted for the solo route. He explained, “I like to make creative goals for myself at the beginning of every year. I knew that Tom and Dave from TLB were going to be busy with their other group in 2018, so I decided to put more focus on writing, with equal attention to TLB and any other outlet I might have to release music. I’ve written a full EP for The Scissors and I’ve written some new songs for another solo release as well. It feels good to have a lot of stuff ready to go.”

Vorel recorded these songs in his Chicago apartment and was responsible for all vocals, as well as guitar, bass and keyboard duties. For drums and percussion, he enlisted the help of his friends Mike Rataj and Chris Mason. When asked about the recording experience, Vorel said “I had to invest in some software and some mics and monitors. I also had to do a ton of research on recording in general. The other half was just recalling what I’ve picked up from watching engineers I’ve worked with over the years. Nothing I have is super fancy, but I think this turned out sounding great for what I had to work with.” He added, “After it was all mixed and ready to go, I still had to master the album. I don’t think I really understood mastering before this experience. I called up my old pal Matt Allison and he came in to help me really put that final glaze over everything to make it real.”

We’re streaming the record’s leadoff track below, “Come Back Girl,” which Vorel described as a good blend of the music he’s created in the past. To celebrate the EP’s release, he’s playing a show at Beat Kitchen on Saturday, May 26th, along with The Cold Mourning, The Hoodie Life, and Daniel Wade. It starts at 7:00 PM, is 17+ and tickets can be purchased here. Joining Vorel onstage that night will be two of his Showoff bandmates, brothers Dan and George Castady. When speaking about playing with them, he said “They can both sing better than I can and are absolute experts when it comes to their craft. I’m really fortunate to have known them this long and I know they’ll be able to give the audience the truest representation of these songs.” Check out “Come Back Girl” now and preorder the record here.

https://soundcloud.com/vorel/darren-vorel-more-today-than-ever-come-back-girl/s-qCX8D

Last month, Chicago’s High Priests released their debut album on Triple Eye Industries, called Spinning. The trio features Mikey Alesi, (vocals/guitar) Justin Gutierrez, (bass) and Mustafa Daka, (drums). Collectively, they’ve played in or currently play in bands such as: The Brokedowns, Wide Angles and Post Child. Recorded by Joe Gac, (Meat Wave) and mastered by Justin Perkins, the record does an impressive job of balancing the group’s inherent rawness with an appropriate amount of polish, thereby allowing the intricacies of the arrangements to really standout. When asked about the recording process, Daka said “I’ve recorded with Joe so many times over the years. He’s who I want to continue working with because I feel he gets better every time and he’s already amazing.”

We’re streaming the album’s opening track below, “Control,” which exemplifies the band’s fierce interpretation of contemporary noise-rock. When speaking as to how they typically go about songwriting, Daka said “Mikey usually comes in with a song and I beat my brain up a little to figure out any of his weird timings. Then Justin and I figure out parts that we think best complement what Mikey’s written and eventually they end up all being fun songs to play.” Take a listen to “Control” now and purchase the record here.

This Sunday, Red Scare Industries’ League of Nations Tour will descend upon Cobra Lounge. The show features headliner Brendan Kelly, (The Lawrence Arms/The Falcon) along with Red Scare labelmates MakeWar and Good Friend. Hailing from Newcastle, England by way of Northern Ireland, this tour marks the first stateside jaunt for Good Friend, who’s playing in support of their 2016 debut full-length, Ride the Storm. Brooklyn-based MakeWar also released an album for Red Scare last year, Developing a Theory of Integrity, and their performance is likely to include many of the notable tracks from what is an impressively varied, genre-defying record. Lastly, Kelly’s set promises to please hometown fans with hits from his best-known bands, as well as songs from his solo career and perhaps even a new tune or two. The event is all ages and gets underway at 4:00 PM, and tickets can be purchased here.

This December, The Lawrence Arms will once again host three consecutive evenings of rousing, booze-filled festivities. This year, the revelry starts on Thursday, 12/14 at Cobra Lounge, with support from The Ridgelands and Fuck You, Idiot. On Friday, 12/15 the party moves to Bottom Lounge and features openers Teenage Bottlerocket and Blood People. The event concludes on Sunday, 12/16 again at Bottom Lounge, this time with Nothington and Sass Dragons joining the fun. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10:00 AM and the Cobra Lounge show can be purchased here, while the Bottom Lounge shows can be obtained here and here.

The Wurst Music & Beer Fest will take place September 8^th – 10^th in the West Loop, featuring three days of music, beer and bratwurst. In addition to offerings from Guinness and a selection of Chicago’s best bratwurst, a varied music lineup will also be on display, consisting of both national and local acts. The headliners include Murder By Death, The Anniversary and Diarrhea Planet, with support from Masked Intruder, Shiner, Pkew Pkew Pkew, The Crombies, Post Child, Sincere Engineer and many others. The festival costs $25 for a three-day pass and tickets can be purchased here.